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deangelo
12 Posts |
 Posted - 11/02/2009 : 8:18:57 PM
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I have some sad news to report today. On Sat. Oct 31st I went down to feed and water my alpacas about 4p.m. Since it was starting to rain I decided to confine our dam and her 2 month old cria inside overnight. Our barn has half doors and I usually leave the top half open so they can see the other alpacas. I only have small barrel bolt latches on the doors but nothing that they can open.
Sunday morning I went down to the barn and found the dam outside the barn with the door still closed. I first thought I must somehow have put the wrong female in the barn but was sure I did not do that. I went inside the fence and looked inside the open top half of the door and no female inside . My mind is saying what is going on here when I realize there is no cria either. How could Mom have gottten out of a latched door and if she could how could she have re-latched that same door? About this time I am scanning the pasture looking for the cria to no avail. I open the barn door and go inside looking for her when all of a sudden I spot a pool of blood on the floor about the size of a dinner plate. All this time mom is following me whimpering looking at me and looking around the barn.
I called my wife down from the house and she got on the riding mower and I got on the Quad and we searched the entire property looking for any tire tracks or footprints or hopefully finding the cria. NOTHING! We called the State Police and after 45 minutes of begging they said they would send a trooper to see us. He finally showed up and made a report. The upside to that is now it will make the newspaper at least.
Unfortunately we have determined it had to be a human that obviously killed (pool of blood on the floor) and stole our cria. There is no way the mom could have gotten out and closed the door behind her . Had it been a bear he would have broken the door getting in but how also would he have known the cria was inside anyway. Had it been a dog or coyote there would have been a blood trail of some kind and there was none only the pool of blood on the floor. And then how would mom have ended up outside? Also no sign of a struggle inside where the cria was.
So we have decided it had to be a human perpetrator and the blood would indicate she is dead.
Along the lines of previous postings about the beheaded cria Found in the pasture at least we don't have that to deal with . We know by now she is dead but we are spared the site of whatever these sickos have done to her.
Please note here that when you are considering how to keep out the predator animals , you remember the human ones.
Heartsick in Penna.
Ralph DeAngelo
1035 Valley Road
Tamaqua, Pa 18252
570 952 1222
MOUNTAIN VALLEY ALPACA FARM
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danimac
514 Posts |
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MerryDenAlpacas
12 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 8:55:20 PM
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I am sorry for your loss i couldnt imagine this happening to us.hmmmmmm very odd. I simply cant imagine why someone would want to kill the cria i hope they realize that once it is dead it has no value.... again sorry for your loss and i hope someone comes forward with information..
Matt
Merry Den Alpacas
N. Bangor N.Y. 12966
1-518-483-4881 |
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Apomerantz
101 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 8:58:27 PM
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Wow. That is terrible. My heart goes out to you. It almost makes me cry to think that someone could do something like that. We do foster care (for children) and you wouldn't believe some of the cases we have had/heard of. Terrible. I hope that they find the perverted person who did that.
Amy |
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jillmcm
1546 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 9:00:58 PM
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Halloween is a scary time for pets and livestock - we had black chickens stolen one year, and know of others who had goats, cats or dogs taken around this time of year. The local humane society would turn up "sacrifices" in the woods from time to time. I am so sorry for your loss, and I hope that the police take this seriously. Many perpetrators begin with animals - but end with humans.
Jill McElderry-Maxwell
Bag End Suri Alpacas of Maine - ¡BESAME!
Benton, ME
(207) 453-0109
bagendsuris@roadrunner.com
http://www.alpacanation.com/bagendsuri.asp
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Koehlers
684 Posts |
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rgoss1
193 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 10:24:54 PM
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Oh Ralph - this is just too sad for words. There is no doubt about it that sick and evil people exist in our world. I will say a prayer for you tonight and ask God to give you his peace.
Again, I'm so sorry for your loss!
Roxanne Goss
Lands End Alpacas LLC
Vermilion, Ohio
gossr@roadrunner.com 440-225-4138 |
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ard
1191 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 10:40:20 PM
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We are so sorry to hear of your loss. It saddens us to think that a person could do such a thing. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Robin Alpert
Alpacas 'R Diamonds
15163 W 323rd
Paola, KS 66071
913-849-3738
www.alpacanation.com/alpacasrdiamonds.asp
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pcbeasley
485 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 11:49:43 PM
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Ralph,
I am so sorry. I know you and your wife are heart broken. We had a terrible killing on our farm Oct. 31st a few years back and it's something you never forget. You guys are in our prayers.
Carol and Paul
Stone Field Alpacas
TN |
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allamericanalpacas
3943 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 12:33:10 AM
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I'll admit that ever since Tana's tragedy, I have kept the rifle loaded and ready on Halloween.
Ralph, so sorry for your loss, no words suffice.
Let's just hope that this time they prosecute the bad guys
Rick
--
Rick & Pati Horn
All American Alpacas
35215 Avenida Mañana
Murrieta, Ca. 92563
951-217-0306
alpacanation.com/aaalpacas.asp
http://aaalpacas.com/updates.html
Life is Good! |
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alpacastarr
560 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 06:49:39 AM
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I'm so sorry for your shocking loss! Of all the things I worry about for my herd I have to admit I never give a thought to bad people wanting to hurt them. My heart goes out to you and your wife and the crias mom and all your herd. I hope the Police take this seriously and find the perpetrator before they can do harm to any other innocent creature.
Big hug and wishes for comfort to your broken hearts.
Starr
Venezia Dream Farm
Asheville, NC
http://alpacanation.com/farmsandbreeders/03_viewfarm.asp?name=11404
http://www.veneziadream.com/
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vintagealpacas
389 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 07:39:21 AM
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Dear Ralph and Mrs. Ralph (?),
I am so sorry about this loss. I have read your story over and over and wondered in my head about the possability of these kinds of things happeneding at my farm since I am in the city and one of my main worries has always been "people" not critters. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted as to any news on this. I think I better get the shot gun loaded too, just in case. I never wanted to keep a gun on the farm although I used to have several here all the time. I have 2 great pyrs who seem to do a good job at scaring things away, they also get riled up if anyone is messing with the animals...that includes me! I got 10 new adult chickens and they have not integrated into the flock yet so I had to physically put them into the coop last night...they made alot of noise and flapped their wings to no avail...my male Pyr came racing into the room to see what was happening....he stood looking at me until I told him it was alright. He waited and watched for a few minutes..then wandered off to the pastures. The Pyrs not only protect the herd, they also guard the chickens very well against hawks too.
Kim
Kimberly Rassi
Vintage Alpacas
alpacanation.asp/vintage |
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Judith
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 07:51:57 AM
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I guess this is one occasion when I can say that I'm grateful that I live across the street from a Cemetery (in my case, the Seneca Nation Cemetery). On Halloween, the Seneca Marshalls patrol our road relentlessly because of the potential for problems in the cemetery (any cemetery is subject to the same sorts of sick violations on All Saints Eve, of course, but the Nation is very proactive about making sure nothing happens here). When they are not on the road, they are alert for my call since I'm the only one who would see and report problems, as occurred last year when a couple of cars visited the cemetery at 2 in the morning on Halloween night.
We also have a large number of spotlighters who are active in our area, and while I have nothing but contempt for people who go around shooting deer after dark, it DOES mean there is a degree of traffic and lighting that may help prevent other miscreants from frequenting the area, so perhaps there is a "plus" to having to listen to gunshots every night.
Ralph, I'm very sorry about your cria and hope that the offenders are caught and punished!
Judith Korff
AlpacaNation Forum Co-Moderator
LadySong Suris
Randolph, NY 14772
Cell: (716) 499-0383
www.alpacanation.com/ladysong.asp |
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nyala
2252 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 09:21:57 AM
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Hello Ralph,
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I hope the police find who did this. I agree with Jill lots of people that do terrible things to humans start with animals. I hope the authorities take this very seriously.
Ann
D. Andrew Merriwether, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Biology, Binghamton University
and
Ann and Andy Merriwether
Nyala Farm Alpacas,Vestal, NY
www.alpacanation.com/nyalafarm.asp |
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WillowTan
512 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 09:45:05 AM
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Ralph,
I am SO sorry to hear about the loss of your cria!!
How is Mom doing? How are YOU doing?
Losing Arianne in October of 2007 was terrible..so I do know how you feel.
The alpaca Community is very supportive..take strength from that.
My hear and prayers to you and Mom!
Hugs!
Tana
Tana L. Ward
WillowTan Alpacas
Delavan, WI 53115 http://alpacanation.com/willowtanalpacas.asp |
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JMET
151 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 09:49:24 AM
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Ralph,
I am so sorry for you loss. You must be devastated. I recently became concerned about people coming onto our property and stealing/harming my alpacas. I had a woman stop by my place and showed me pictures she had taken of one of our cria's- she wanted to see him closer up. Well, while we were looking she commented on my newest cria who had just come home a week before (from being at New Bolton for 3.5 wks) and had been in our back pasture in its own run with her mom. She had a picture of this cria too! It is not visible from the road. She WALKED onto my property and took photos. The back barn is not secured and anyone can walk into there and get to our girls/crias. I was freaked out that someone would go that far onto our property without us. Now, I wonder who else does this. It is scary and people are as much as a threat as animals.
Once again, I am really sorry for your lose. I hope they catch whoever did this to you.
Jeanine
Golden Star Farm, LLC
www.goldenstarfarm.com |
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Judith
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 11:41:02 AM
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It's absolutely true and frightening that people think they can enter private property, walk anywhere they want and do whatever they please because it's all "innocent." People don't realize how much damage they could do if they unwittingly tracked some disease onto a farm, or panicked a herd of animals not accustomed to pasture visits resulting in injury or stress-related abortions/absorptions. Even well meaning people who would no more intentionally harm your livestock than they would put their own children at risk don't understand what type of damage they could be doing by an unsupervised, unguided visit to your barn or pastures. As much as we love to have people pull off the road and photograph our alpacas, the last thing we need is to have them feel sufficiently "at home" to drive in and meander around. LGDs do help with this (although as I've noted in other threads, they don't work for my location). An intimidatingly large and protective llama is a good option for some. For the rest of us, electrified fencing, warning signs and a gated driveway may be the only real protection against casual intrusions.
Judith Korff
AlpacaNation Forum Co-Moderator
LadySong Suris
Randolph, NY 14772
Cell: (716) 499-0383
www.alpacanation.com/ladysong.asp |
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ard
1191 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 2:22:24 PM
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I agree with Judith. We have 2 dogs, post beware of dog sign and have 2 guard llamas with our females. We also live on a road with little traffic and neighbors who keep an eye out. I think the Rotty is probably the best protection. People usually don't get out of their cars when Loki wanders over to "greet" them. We have also thought about a gated driveway. We now teach people that the world owes them something and they think nothing of taking it from someone else.
Robin Alpert
Alpacas 'R Diamonds
15163 W 323rd
Paola, KS 66071
913-849-3738
www.alpacanation.com/alpacasrdiamonds.asp
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bobvicki
1874 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 2:41:11 PM
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quote:
We have 2 dogs, post beware of dog sign and have 2 guard llamas with our females.
Big dogs and loud barking are good and maybe the beware of dog sign should have a reminder that "if you don't see the dogs it is because they are hiding and they can outrun you!"
or,
"the dogs appear friendly until you get on their turf"
My dogs were not got because of natural predators but more to keep unaccompanied people from going over the fence.
Bob
Bob & Vicki Blodgett
Suri Land Alpaca Ranch
3288 Halter Avenue
Newton, Iowa 50208
641-831-3576
alpaca@iowatelecom.net
www.alpacanation.com/suriland.asp |
Edited by - bobvicki on 11/03/2009 2:44:37 PM |
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hoodwinked
25 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 3:57:01 PM
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Mr. & Mrs. Ralph,
We are so very sorry to hear of your loss and the horror involved. I'll be praying that the deranged soul that did this will find healing through the Lord. Also praying for you and yours to be able to come to peace with this. It's good that you persisted with the law. Do you have cult activity in your area? The law would know and should be able to know where to look for signs.
I was thinking that since I can not put in a fence or gate up to keep humans out, that a sign at my entrance stating "visitors by appointment only" might help for those that have any integrity or intelligence.
Again we are sorry for your loss, Terry & Sue
Terry & Sue Hart
SunRise Suris
Vinton, IA
319 784-7847
319 310-7705
SunRise_Suris@commspeed.net
www.AlpacaNation.com/SunRiseSuris.asp |
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deangelo
12 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2009 : 09:12:41 AM
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I am going to take a few minutes for an update as I may not have the time for a few days.
Tuesday morning I was in the kitchen making coffee and looking out at the alpacas and sensed something not right. It was still dark and foggy so I got the pistol and down I went to the barn. I immediately noticed some things out of place and as I got closer I couls see the courtyard straw covered in blood and our gelded male laying up against the barn apparently dead. This time I was careful not to disturb anything while I called the State Police. This time they said they would send a trooper right away. I woke my wife and got dressed to wait(I had gone down in my pajamas). Returning to the barn I saw Jack was still alive. I called my vet and even though he was supposed to go out of town he came to the farm. I could not assess the extent of injuries at this point but I knew it wasn't good. The State Police arrived and shortly after the vet came .
We determined Jack could not be saved and put him down to stop the suffering. After about 1 1/2 hours we came to the conclusion that it must have been a very large black dog. He had puncure woulds on his neck and his hind quarter was devoid of any meat.
Having a hard time typing and wiping the tears.
We buried Jack and decided to spend nights in the barn till we get the dog. Assuming it was a dog I set up lights in the pasture and took my pistol down to spend the night at about 6 p.m. Our daughter and her friend were to come about 11 to help. Sitting in the dark barn about 8:30 I saw the girls acting very nervous and knew something was happening. Our big male was in the other pasture and I could see him Very excited. Then all of a sudden I saw a large shadow in the walkway between the pastures and knew something was out there. Then I saw it .OMG it is a bear. I have all the doors open to get a good shot at a dog and here I am looking at a 350 lb. bear with only a .38 in my hand. He walked up and down the walkway and then he stops at the gate. Next thing I know he is going to climb the gate. If I let him in where I can get a shot and miss I have nowhere to hide. Not even sure the pistol is enough ,I should have taken the rifle. As soon as I saw his head over the top of the gate I took a shot hoping for the best . My wife was watching this from the house and had no idea where i was. She saw him jump and run back in the woods. I guess I missed never having been so scared in my life knowing my .38 were not a good match for a bear. I wanted him down in the worst way but I could not risk him getting in at me possibly wounded and probably getting me.
Needless to say I loaded the rifles and 3 of us spent a very cold and nervous night hoping he would return. He Didn't and I checked the woods this morning but no bear.
We will be spending every night in the barn until I get him although the scary part is we know he comes out during the day also so it will be 24/7 vigil.
Sorry this is so long But with all the kind thoughts and comments here I need all to know the facts.
There are 2 upsides to this if there is such a thing . Jack was a gelded pet male even though we loved him as much as the others the loss could have been much greater.
Since this turns out not to be a human at least I have a chance at getting my revenge . If this had been a human and we had caught him we all know there would have been very little justice.
I will not be getting much sleep the next few days so I may not be on here but if I get him I will let everyone know.
By the way, even though Jack had no real value the cria did and we now know what happened to her. But this is beyond dollars and cents, our alpacas are family and I hope to get even.
Thank you all for your kind words and prayers.
Ralph & Bernie DeAngelo and of course the alpacas thank you too |
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Stolen Cria
